Home Office drops police checks on foreign nationals

POLICE checks on foreign nationals, including Russian and Chinese citizens, have been quietly dropped by the Home Office.

People arriving from 44 countries no longer have to give details to the police when they move to the UK.

The checks, known as the Police Registration Scheme, were halted at the end of last week with no public announcement from the Home Office, Border Force or immigration authorities. As well as Russian and Chinese nationals, it includes those from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria. It comes despite a Home Office minister insisting in 2016 that the scheme was necessary “in order to maintain security”.

An immigration expert told The Daily Mail: “It is a shock. The information collected from these people is an important intelligence asset.

“There has been no thought for public safety. It is lunacy right now when we are in the middle of disagreements with Russia and China, each who send their people to study or work in this country.” However, a Home Office spokesman dismissed the claims as “wrong and misguided”. He added: “This scheme dates back to the First World War and is no longer effective because data provided to the police is already collected by the Home Office when individuals apply to enter the UK. The police agree with government and recommended that the scheme should be abolished so that officers can focus on policing and solving crimes. It is not used by the police to monitor individuals and to claim otherwise is wrong.”

Introduced in 1909 amid concerns over German spying, registration of long-stay students, workers and visitors with police forces has been routine for decades. The criteria used by the Home Office to decide which nationalities were required to register with police has never been published.

But they are thought to be countries whose nationals pose a higher risk to crime, including terrorism, or those who present higher risks of overstaying their visa. The scheme covered foreign nationals aged over 16 who had been granted permission to live in this country for more than six months. It required them to attend a police station in person and pay a £34 fee. They also had to inform police of any changes to their address, name, visa and if they moved jobs.

Yesterday at a Met Police building in south London, which was used for all registrations by eligible foreign nationals in the capital, a sign on the door read: ‘Police Registration Scheme has been abolished.’

The Home Office granted 166,646 visas to Chinese nationals last year, 30,736 to Russians, 8,897 to Afghans, 8,339 to Iranians, 5,929 to Iraqis, 4,098 to Syrians and 1,521 to Libyans.